Alexis Lafrenière is buying into the brand of hockey that Mike Sullivan wants to play, and it’s beginning to pay dividends.
Through the New York Rangers’ most recent stretch, Lafrenière has arguably been the team’s most impactful player, and it’s for reasons that you may not expect.
The 2020 first overall pick is touted for his flashy play and unique offensive skill set, but he’s never been particularly known as a physically minded player who plays a net-front game.
However, we’ve seen a steady evolution in Lafrenière’s game this season.
The 24-year-old forward has done exceptionally well holding onto pucks with the intention of creating offensive opportunities, something he struggled with to kick off the 2025-26 campaign.
Lafrenière has also become unafraid to crash the front of the net or screen the goalie in the crease, which has unlocked a whole new element to his game.
“I just think he’s hanging onto pucks. He’s challenging people in the right areas of the rink,” Sullivan said of Lafrenière. “It's not a high risk proposition. He's driving wide. He's got a low-ice mentality off the rush, where he's trying to drive pucks deep into the zone, and then he acts on his instincts from there. He's not throwing pucks away. He's hanging on pucks. He's challenging people. He's making people defend him, and he's hard to defend when he hangs on pucks. He's a good one on one player.
“The other thing he's done is he's gone to the net. He's at the blue paint a lot more the last few games, and as a result, he’s around the puck a lot. Those are the things that we've been trying to encourage him to do. I think he's done a really good job at it the last few games.”
Sullivan has been impressed with Lafrenière, so much so that he rewarded him with the net-front role on the team’s first power-play unit.
Lafrenière seems to be more engaged on a play-by-play basis, something that was always a point of criticism in the past.
Mike Sullivan Stays Committed To Five-Forward Power-Play Unit Despite Recent Struggles
Despite going through some struggles, Mike Sullivan remains committed to the five-forward power-play unit.
While Lafrenière’s talent is undeniable, his two-way game and aggressiveness in order to create offense whether it’s his inability to get into the dirty areas or holding onto pucks that has always been in question.
Through this recent stretch of games, Lafrenière is starting to play with the right intentions, and that is a positive development in his overall growth as a player.